Jude Bellingham: The Rising Star of International Football
Jude Bellingham is doing what the great ones do: turning international tournaments into his own personal stage.
Another summer, another campaign with the spotlight fixed firmly on England, and once again it is the 21-year-old from Birmingham dragging his country through the turbulence. Handed a starting role as this latest competition kicked off, Bellingham drove England to a 4-2 win over Croatia in their opener, dictating the tempo and setting the tone. When a tricky encounter with Panama threatened to drift, it was Bellingham who broke the deadlock, ripping the game away from danger and back under his control.
England have been crying out for a talisman. Bellingham has not answered that call alone. Record-breaking captain Harry Kane has walked beside him, the pair combining talent with responsibility. At the iconic Azteca Stadium, in a breathless last-16 tie against Mexico, both found the net in a thrilling victory that felt like a statement of intent as much as a passage into the next round.
The pressure finally told early in that contest. Bellingham produced a quick-fire brace before half-time, detonating the match and sparking wild celebrations in the stands. The questions that have followed him – about his temperament, his swagger, his unshakeable belief – melted into the noise. This is what he does. This is who he is.
His character has been under the microscope, but the conclusion keeps coming back the same: that supreme self-confidence is not a side issue, it is the engine. It is what has turned a kid from Birmingham into a global superstar.
Danny Murphy has seen enough to be convinced. Speaking to GOAL in association with BetWright, the former England midfielder did not hold back in his assessment of Bellingham’s all-round package – athleticism, technique, fitness, mentality. The complete midfielder, but with an edge very few young players possess. When Murphy looks down the years, the names that spring to mind sit at the very top of the English game: Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen. That level of aura. That level of impact.
Murphy pointed back to Euro 2024, a tournament in which England often laboured but Bellingham still found ways to drag them forward. The overhead kick, the decisive header in the opening game – moments that flipped results and masked collective flaws. When others went missing, he went looking for the ball.
That blend is what fascinates former pros: outrageous ability fused with a ruthless, almost confrontational belief in himself. Murphy admitted he found the debate over whether Bellingham should start – or whether someone like Adam Wharton (referred to as “Rogers” in some discussions) might be preferred – almost laughable. Not because those other players lack quality, but because Bellingham is operating a rung higher, and has already proved it on the biggest stages.
You do not walk into Real Madrid and own the season by accident. Bellingham did exactly that in his first year in Spain, reshaping a team and a league around his presence. Only injuries have slowed him slightly this season, and even then, only in patches.
The logic for Murphy is simple: if Bellingham is fit, he plays. Anywhere. It barely matters where he lines up because his gifts stretch across positions and roles. He carries himself with a strut that some interpret as arrogance, yet his output never dips. That is the crucial distinction. The celebration, the “who else?” gesture – it all feeds into a persona that could grate if it were not backed up every three days.
Plenty of stars have believed their own hype and eased off the dirty work. Bellingham is not one of them. Murphy drew the contrast with someone like Mohamed Salah, a match-winner whose defensive contribution often takes a back seat to his goal threat. No coach complains when a forward wins that many games. Bellingham, though, marries that kind of decisive quality with a ferocious work ethic. He presses, tracks back, closes down – and still looks like the man most likely to decide the contest at the other end.
Right now, he looks like he can win games on his own. He looks like he is enjoying the responsibility as much as the spectacle. For those who questioned whether he should even be on the plane, let alone in the starting XI, Murphy’s verdict was blunt: they should be hanging their heads and apologising.
Because every time the stakes rise, every time England wobble, the same question hangs in the air.
Who else?
